Simplicity Seems Best
by transmuting
Summary: Tamaki has a question for Haruhi that he's far too nervous about getting the answer to. Haruhi/Tamaki fluff. Post-manga things.


Tamaki didn't really like to admit he got nervous. He had an air of confidence to him that most people envied and really, he liked to keep up that facade. As he sat on the couch in the living room of the cozy city apartment, however, he could do nothing to hide the sheer terror he was facing. It seemed to have bypassed nerves completely and gone to something far more intimidating and nausea inducing. He'd called Kyoya at least ten times to inform him he couldn't do this, he was going to faint, that maybe the timing just wasn't right and he was going to send Haruhi into some kind of spiraling depression, forcing her to not only break up with him but to cut him out of her life completely and leave him in ruins, a broken man with nothing to live for.

Kyoya had said he was catastrophizing and to leave him alone.

So there Tamaki was, on his own, wringing his hands and about ready to get up and pace back and forth in the living room. Gentleman should never really have such impatience as to feel as though they need to pace, but the urge still stayed no matter how hard he tried to fight it off with previous hosting knowledge. His eyes closed, brows knitting together in concern, and he could feel his heart pounding in his chest, practically hearing it in his ears.

But then everything went quiet. So quiet you could hear a pin drop. The door knob was jiggling, the sound of a key scraping against other metal as someone attempted to unlock it. Tamaki's eyes shot open, staring intensely at the entrance to the apartment, his hands clasped together so tightly the knuckles were starting to turn white. The knob turned, the handle twisting on its side and then -

"Dammit! Sempai, undo the stupid chain, I can't get in!"

Haruhi didn't sound like she was in the most pleasant of moods. It sounded like she was even in a very _un_pleasant one with such a tone. She only reverted to calling him sempai these days when she was in said mood and it was always something that made his stomach tie in unpleasant knots. How was he supposed to talk to her about such important, romantic things if she was going to bite his head off?

Jumping quickly up off of the couch, Tamaki ran to the door, undoing the chain and pulling the door open with quite a flourish. He stood tall, one arm extended after having waved her in, and a loving, gentle smile playing on his features.

"Welcome home, my princess." She stormed passed him with a grumbled thank you, dragging her rolling bag behind her. As he closed the door, he went to lean back against it, watching her quietly for a moment. "You know, we've been together for such a long time now, don't you think we really ought to drop that formal sempai business? I'd think darling or sweetheart or something of the sort would be much more -"

She shot him a glare over her shoulder that made him shrink back just an inch. With an apologetic sigh, Haruhi turned more fully too him, her shoulders slumping, strands of her hair falling messily in front of her eyes. "I'm sorry, Tamaki. But it's just not the time for flowery words, okay? I'm really not in the mood. I'm gonna get started on dinner."

"Well that'll put a damper on things," he muttered to himself. She was staring at him curiously afterward and he quickly waved it off, pushing his body away from the door finally and crossing the room to her. His arm went around her, one hand sliding under her chin to tilt it upward, and he leaned down to place a gentle kiss at the corners of her mouth. "You should relax, darling. After such a long and clearly difficult day, you shouldn't have to deal with the burden of cooking for me. Besides, I've already placed an order, it won't be long before it's here and on the table."

Haruhi groaned, pulling away from his embrace. "I hate when you do that."

Tamaki blinked at her in confusion. "Do what?"

"Spend your money on me like that when you don't have to. I know you've got it to throw around, but you know how I feel about ordering when we've got a perfectly good meal waiting in the fridge." She sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"I made sure to get fancy tuna," he said in as light an air as he could, giving her an almost devious smile after. It earned him a glance from the side, clearly the wheels in her mind spinning on whether or not to forgive him as he had been sure to get one of her favorite things to eat. It was always safe to say that Haruhi's weakness would be fancy tuna.

She huffed just slight, turning her back on him as she headed away from the kitchen and towards the sitting area instead. "I guess it's nice to not have to worry about making a huge mess with food. And at least you weren't dumb enough to try and cook without any supervision." Before she could take a seat herself, he'd run over to pull out her chair, earning him a prompt eye roll but at least no sarcastic remark thrown his way.

Tamaki had been reading plenty of articles to try and figure out how to do this just right. American magazines, blogs, Google - anything that could give him an idea on how to not screw everything up by asking the wrong way or not doing it romantically enough, or worse, doing it _too_ romantically because that seemed to be entirely possible when it came to Haruhi. He'd found an array of answers, pages upon pages of advice and it had honestly made it that much more confusing.

All he knew was simplicity seemed best. Simplicity and the promise of fancy tuna to back things up.

Taking a deep breath, he decided it was now or never. The food would be here any minute and while that could be an interruption, he didn't want their dinner to be dragged out, for him to have knots in his stomach the whole meal and be unsure of whether or not he could even _eat_ the meal he'd just paid so much for. It was then that he decided to dig into his pocket, fiddling with the box, trying to tell himself this was all going to be okay.

"Haruhi," he said shortly, not adding on any additional pet names. Her brown eyes blinked up at him in confusion. His tone was serious and unsure, something that it rarely managed to be, even when the moment was entirely called for it. To say he was making her a little anxious would be an understatement, but she did her best to not show it. Clearing his throat, Tamaki caught her eyes, and refused to break the gaze. "I have something to ask you. And I request that you not interrupt me no matter how much you may want to."

She nodded. Apparently she was too stunned by the sudden change in atmosphere to manage words.

Clearing his throat, he waved his hand around in the air, as though show casing the entire apartment. "This... This has all been wonderful. Staying with you. Being with you all the time. I know things aren't exactly as we pictured them to be, hardly the fantasies we may have had as young children, but - well, it's perfect, I think. You're perfect. I feel perfect when I'm with you. You make me... complete. _Don't roll your eyes at me, I mean it!_ You're ... You're the one for me and I know I may make airs about it a lot, maybe even make you think I'm not serious, but I am. I'm very, very serious." He fiddled with the box in his hands, finally bringing himself to pull it out of his pocket, sinking down on to one knee. Haruhi gave a small gasp, opening her mouth to stop him, but he held a finger up to her lips to silence her. "I promised myself I wouldn't make a show of it. I wouldn't make a speech that took longer than five minutes to say. So - so I'm asking you, plain and simple. Haruhi, I -" He gulped, the words sticking in his throat for a moment. The wide eyed look on her face did nothing to help. He couldn't gauge her response. Opening the box, he revealed a simplistic diamond. Nothing too flashy. Just as he thought she'd like it. "Haruhi, I would love for you to do me the honor of becoming my wife."

There was a long, dead silence. One that could have had crickets chirp in it. No swelling of music, no brimming tears. Nothing that the movies would've shown to make him think this was going well. He waited. He waited as patiently as he could, trying not to seem scared, to seem pushy. His lip went between his teeth and he refused to move.

Finally, she sighed, that same irritated expression on her face as usual as she snatched the ring from the box and slid it onto her finger. "Honestly, you have to make a show out of everything."

"Is - is that a yes then...?"

"I guess it is. Now call the restaurant and find out where the tuna is. I'm really hungry."


End file.
